Method and machine for making metal lath.



C. H. SCAMMELL.

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MAKING METAL LATH.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.27.19l4.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Patented J an. 2

c. H. SCA MMELL.

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR'MAKING METAL LATH,

APPLICAT ION FILED NOV. 27' 1914.

1 21 @84 Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

CHARLES H. SCAM'MELL, NEW .YOBK, N. Y;', ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES H. SCAMMELL COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

METHQD AND MACHINE roa Maxine METAL LATH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. Patented Jam, 1917.

Application filed November 27, 1914. Serial No. 874,161.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. SCAM- MELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods and Machines for Making Metal Lath, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same. i

This invention relates to metal lath formed of sheets of perforated metal, the especial object being to provide a cheap and efiicient article of that class of plastering materials in which the lath carries a backing sheet, preferably of paper, against which plaster or other plastic material may be molded and the desired clench of the plaster secured with a comparatively small amount of plaster.

The invention may be applied,'however, in producing constructions in which backing sheets are used on both sides of the metal lath for sheathing or other purposes.

The invention is especially applicable in connection with that form of perforated metal lath now well known as expanded metal, which is formed by slitting the metal sheet and drawing or forcing out the strands to open the slits and turn the strands at an angle to the plane of the metal, the joints between the strands thus forming portions projecting beyond the strands and engaging the backing sheet, as fully described and shown in United States Letters Patent to Leist, No. 1,061,389, dated May 13, 1913.

In accordance with the present invention, I form the expanded metal with tongues or points projecting beyond the strands, which tongues or points are forced through the paper or other backing sheet and clenched thereon, so as to hold the sheet firmly and at' frequent points. The tongues or points preferably are at the strand joints of the lath, and preferably are made by so slitting the metal sheet to be expanded that the metal is out along the lines of these tongues or points approximately at right angles to the sheets so as to project beyond the plane of the metal. The paper or other backing sheet is applied by pressing the metal lath and backirfg sheet together and preferably clenching the ends of the tongues or points I upon the sheet, and this is preferably done by passing the lath and backing sheet together through metal rolls, either during or after the expanding of the slit metal. If sheets are to be applied on both sides of the metal, this preferably is done at a single operation, although this is not essentia In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, the invention is illustrated as applied in connection with the preferred form of expanded metal lath and the preferred method and machine for form ing such expanded metal lath, and this construction will now be described in detail and the features forming the invention then particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a diagrammatic vertical section of a machine for slitting and expanding the metal, applying a single backing sheet, and rolling up the completed product; Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of a portion of the machine showing the metal during slitting, stretching and applying the backing sheet; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail of the slitters; Fig. 4 is a side view of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 shows detail end views of the opposite cutters; Fig. 6 is a detail section of a portion of the rolls by which the njetal is stretched and the backing sheet applied; Figs. 7 to 11 are views illustrating the varioussteps of the method; Fig. 7 is a plan view of the'slit metal; Fig. 8 is a similar viewof the stretched or expanded metal; Figs. 9 and 10 are crosssections, respectively, on the lines 99 and 10-10 of Fig. 8; Fig. 11 is a section of the complete article, with backing sheet; Figs. 12 to 15 illustrate the application of backing sheets on each side of the metal; Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 7, showing the slit metal; Fig. 13 is aview similar to Fig. 8, showing the metal of Fig. 12 expanded; Fig. 14' is a section on the line 14 of Fig. 13, and Fig. 15 is a View similar to Fig. 11, showing the complete article.

Referring to the drawings, and especially to Figs. 1 to 11', the machine-illustrated is substantially the same in general construcvwhich the metal sheet or to be slit is fed,

feeding rolls 11 behind the slitting head being shown, and from the slitting head A .the slit sheet of metal 00 passes to the stretching machine through feedin rolls 12 and over tension roll 13, from which the slit sheet passes to the feeding rolls B of the stretching machine, two pairs of feeding rolls being shown, and then to the stretching rolls C running at a higher rate of speed than the rolls B, and then to the setting rolls D running at the. same or slightly higher speed than the rolls C, these feeding, setting and stretching rolls operating as fully described in Letters Patent of the United States No. 885,815 and No. 900,902. From the setting rolls D, the stretched metal is shown as passing to the trimmers 14 and below tension roll 15 to reel E, on which the completed product is formed into a package roll. The feeding, stretching and setting rolls B, C and D are shown as ribbed, as in Patent No. 900,902, above referred to, so as to give a better hold on the metal, but it will be understood thatthis is not essential to the invention, but that plain rolls, or rolls roughened or formed in any other manner to secure the desired hold upon the metal, may be used.

Referring now to the features added for the embodiment of the inventionthe cutters or knives (1,1), instead of forming straight slits, as usual,are provided with corresponding projecting points 1 and notches 2, as shown clearly in Fig. 5, so as to form on one side of the slit in the slit metal projecting tongues or points 3 and corresponding notches 4, with the result that when the slit sheet at is stretched by the stretching rolls C. to form the expanded metal sheet the projecting tongues 3 are turned at approximately right angles'to the plane of the metal and project beyond such plane, as shown clearly in Figs. 9 and 10. The cutters are preferably formed so as to produce these tongues 3 at substantially the middle of'the slits so as to project at the strand joints in the expanded metal, these strand joints themselves projecting beyond the other portions of the strands.

The backing sheet, preferably of paper, may be applied at any suitable point after the metal is stretched, and either in the stretching machine or in a separate machine, but preferably and as shown, the backing sheet is applied in the, same machine by which the stretching is done, so-that this.

sheet so that the tongues 3 are forced into and preferably through the backing sheet and clenched thereon, to hold the backing sheet on the lath, as shown clearly in Figs.

6 to 11, this producing the completed article, which may be delivered in sheets from the machine, or rolled up on reel E, to form a package roll, as shown.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 to 11, and above described, the invention is applied in connection with plastering material or other articles having a backing sheet only on one side of the metal lath. The invention may be applied also in producing similar material for sheathing or other purposes, having backing sheets on both sides of the metal lath. Such aconstruction and method of producing it'is illustrated is Figs. 7 to 10. In this construction and method, the sheet -metal a: is slit so as to form two sets of tongues or points, one set, 3, extending in one direction, and the other set, 3, extending in the opposite direction, so that the stretching of the metal for expanding results in the tongues 3 projecting from one side of the expanded metal and the tongues 3' projecting from the opposite side of the metal, and backing sheets y, y, may be applied on opposite sides of the metal and held inthe same manner as previously described. The relative arrangement and method of producing the opposite tongues 3, 3-in slitting the metal may be varied, but, as shown in Fig. 12, alternate rows of tongues extend in opposite directions, this result beingsecured conveniently by reversing the points 1 and notches 2 on successive pairs of cuttersa, b, and shifting the metal or cutters sidewise between successive cuts such a distance as to produce the alternate rows of projections 3 and 3 shown in Fig. 12. The slit metal of Fig. 12, thus produced, is expanded, and the backing sheets ap lied in the same manner as above described: cept that an additional backing sheet y is introduced on the upper side of the metal between the rolls C, O, in the same manner as the sheet y is introduced below in Fig. 1,

the stretched metal being shown in Figs. 13 and 14, and the complete article with backing sheets y in Fig. 15.

While I have shown the completed article as produced by a single machinefthe metal sheet passing in succession through the Slll'flter and stretcher, it will be understood that separate slitting and stretching machines the invention, broadly considered, is applicable also in'connection with other forms of expanded metal and may be embodied in machines of other classes and operating to form the expanded metal by other methods than as illustrated.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of making metal lath,

' which consists in forming the metal lath with projecting tongues integral therewith, and forcing said tongues into a backing sheet to secure the latter on the lath.

2. The method of making metal lath, which consists in forming the metal lath with projecting tongues integral therewith, forcing said tongues into a backing sheet to I I secure the latter on the lath, and clenching the tongues upon the sheet.

. 3. The method of making metal lath of expanded metal, which consists in slitting the metal to form tongues projecting from.

the slits, expanding the metal' to turn the strands and tongues at an angle to the plane of the metal with the tongues projecting beyond the plane of the strand joints of the lath, and forcing said tongues into a backing sheet to secure the latter on the lath.

4. The method-of making metal lath of expanded metal, which consists in slitting the metal .to form tongues projecting from the slits, expanding the metal to turn the strands and tongues at an angle to the plane of the metal with the tongues projecting beyond the plane of the strand joints of the lath, forcing said tongues into a backing sheet to secure the latter on the lath, and clenching the tongues upon the sheet.

5. The method of making metal lath of expanded metal, which consists in slitting the metal to form tongues projecting from the slits, and expanding the metal to turn the strands and tongues at an angle to the plane of the metal with the tongues projecting beyond-the plane of the strand joints of the lath.-

6. The method of making metal lath of expanded metal, which consistsin slitting the metal to form tongues projectingfrom the slits at the strand joints, and expanding the metal to turn the strands and tongues at an angle to the plane of the metal with the tongues projecting beyond the plane of the strand joints.

7. The combination with means for advancing a metal sheet, of means for slitting the sheet for expanding, including slitters the sheet for expanding, including slitters shaped to form tongues on the metal projecting beyond the central portion of the slits, and means for stretching said metal transversely to the slits to expand the metal and turn the strands and tongues at an angle to the plane of the metal.

9. The combination with means for advancing a metal sheet, of means for slitting the sheet for expanding, including slitters shaped to form tongues on the metal, means for stretching said metal transversely to the slits to expand the metal and turn the strands and tongues at an angle to the lane of the metal, and means for applying a ack ing sheet to the expanded metal and forcing the tongues into the sheet.

10. The combination with means for advancing a metal sheet, of means for slitting the sheet for expanding, including slitters shaped to, form tongues on the metal, means for stretching said metal transversely to the slits to expand the metal and turn the strands and tongues at an angle to the plane. of the metal, and means for applying a backing sheet to the expanded metal and clenching the tongues upon the sheet.

11. In a machine for stretching or expanding slitted sheet metal cut to form tongues projecting from the metal, the combination with means for stretching the metal and turning the strands and tongues at an angle to the-plane of the metal, of means for applying a backing sheet to the expanded metal and forcing the tongues into the sheet.

12. In a machine for stretching or expanding slitted sheet metal cut to form tongues projecting from the metal, the combination with means for stretching the metal and turning the strands and tongues at an angle to the plane of the metal, of means for applying a backing sheet to the expanded metal and clenching the tongues upon the sheet. 1

13. In a machine for stretching or expanding slitted sheet metal cut to form tongues projecting from the metal, the combination with sheet feeding rolls and stretching rolls rotating at a higher surface speed my hand, in the presence of two subscribing than the feeding rolls, of a backing sheet Witnesses. supply from which a backing sheet is drawn w and applied to the metal after stretching, CHARLES SCAMMLLL and means for forcing the tongues into the WVitnesses:

sheet and clenching them upon the sheet, A. WHITE,

' In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set C. J. SAWYER. 

